Ep 139: The Rise of Alcohol-Free Bottle Shops with Danny Frounfelkner

Sep 29

Today, more than ever before, we have access to so many delicious drinks while living our best alcohol-free lives. Did you know there are over 400 (!?) non-alcoholic beverage alternatives available right now? And self-proclaimed “Beverage Nerd” Danny Frounfelkner has tried them all!

In this episode of Euphoric The Podcast, Danny shares his alcohol-free journey and how challenging it was to spend the majority of his career around alcohol (as both a beverage director and sommelier).

You’ll learn all about his Houston-based alcohol-free bottle shop, Sipple, and some of his favorite players joining the alcohol-free drink movement! We are so grateful you are part of this journey with us.

Forever a Beverage Nerd.

Growing up in Northern California near Napa Valley, Danny Frounfelkner was fascinated by vineyards, apple orchards and using plants to make a beverage. He calls himself a beverage nerd, and he’s spent the majority of his career and life around alcohol, as a beverage director, and sommelier.

In his words, being in the alcohol industry was all-consuming. From wine tasting all day to a single drink after work becoming many, Danny reached his late 30’s and felt lost. The later half of 2019 was the lowest he’d ever felt. From work and past trauma, he began to emotionally spiral, and alcohol was his resource.

He used drinking to cope and numb out. Danny found himself questioning his purpose, and knew something needed to change. His soul and his children were his motivators, and being prompted by the universe, he began to cut back mindfully. As he did, Danny experienced improved sleep, higher functioning and focus at work, increased productivity and patience. Most importantly he became more present with himself and his children.

The process was so natural and organic for him that a colleague pointed out one day to Danny that he hadn’t had a drink in a month. Danny hadn’t even noticed.

Danny identifies himself as a spiritual person and found that alcohol inhibited his connection to that part of who he is. For the past 2+ years, he has been on a journey into transformative, space, and plant medicine.

Danny’s experience is such a beautiful example of how an alcohol-free life is about so much more than deprivation. It is about coming more and more into the beautiful you that has been waiting for you all along!

The alternatives are there and delicious too.

After starting his alcohol-free journey, Danny began to realize that, alcohol or not, he was a beverage nerd at heart. His love for the stories, flavors, soil properties, and the complex characteristics that create delicious drinks was still his passion.

During the summer of 2020, Danny began tasting alcohol-free drinks, and since has tried over 400 different non-alcoholic beverages. His bottle shop, Sipple, was created that summer and began to educate people, build community, and develop awareness of the incredible alternatives that exist.

In the alcohol-free world, we know there are a number of delicious beer and spirit alternatives, but wine is a bit trickier. Danny has discovered some favorite alternatives!

When it comes to sparkling wines, he recommends Noughty Alcohol-free wine by Thompson & Scott or Prima Pavé which is out of California. He couldn’t even tell it was non-alcoholic when he first tried it!

For still white wines, a new company called Buzzkill Wines offers a great Sauvignon Blanc and Sip Clean out of Australia offers both a white and rosé non-alcoholic wine.

Red wine is often the most complex, which makes it harder to come by in the alcohol-free world, but Danny does recommend Noughty Rouge. There is also Surely which offers a Pinot Noir in addition to sparkling wine and still whites!

I have had the chance to try a few proxies, and asked Danny his thoughts, and I loved his reply. He describes a proxy beverage as the type of drink to have when you want a “wine moment”. They’re great to bring to get togethers and a couple of Danny’s favorites are Copenhagen Sparkling Tea and NON.

It’s incredible how many options are out there now, and it’s so encouraging to see our culture shifting. There are even restaurants like French Laundry and March creating and offering non-alcoholic cocktail menus, pairing meals with delicious and complex non-alcoholic drinks!

The Sipple future.

Danny has been so encouraged by the growth of non-alcohol bottle shops around the country. He sees an increase in accessibility in all different cities and even retailers signing deals with alcohol-free companies. Whole Foods, Target, Disney, and CVS are all noticing the increased demand, and I imagine a lot is going to shift over the next few years!

Because of that, Danny and Sipple are honing in on events and education to help people know what exists and how to access it.

Danny also has a podcast with his friend Laura on non-alcoholic beverages, and in the New Year, he’ll launch his own podcast with a focus on transformative medicine and non-alcoholic beverages called Rainbow Bridge.

The vision of his podcast is to help shift the black and white lens that most people have. It’s no longer that a person drinks or is an alcoholic. He sees himself as living in that gray area and in fact calls it a rainbow. We each have our own path and journey, and there is room for all of those paths!

Danny leaves us with some beautiful words of wisdom:

“Just be just, and be proud of that… Reflect on where you were and where you are. Because it's a huge moment in your life, to ditch alcohol or to cut back because of the conditioning in the world and social norms… Applaud yourself. Be proud of yourself. Give yourself some love.”

As you choose your truth, you are taking part in shifting the culture and reminding others that there is a demand and desire for something that is so much more than a beverage!

“It's about healing. It's about mental health. It's about being true to yourself and your journey. And there's other options out there to find that community and that support. And it's not just black and white, it's not gray. There's a whole beautiful rainbow world out there to discover.” Danny Frounfelkner

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about Danny’s alcohol-free bottle shop, Sipple, and be sure to follow along on Instagram!

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